Chamwe Kaira
Namibians who have been pregnant with expectations that Nando’s, the South African franchise that specializes in Portuguese flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken will return to Namibia after its departure five years ago, will have to keep craving for it to return.
Following numerous social media postings of Namibian travelers coming back with Nando’s mostly from South Africa, Observer Money sought to find out the latest regarding the franchise’s status in Namibia.
We issued a statement in 2018 and there are no new developments or updates. As such, we will not be providing further comments on the topic. Nando’s had operated in Namibia for 16 years before it closed its franchises in the country.
“We issued a statement in 2018 and there are no new developments or updates. As such, we will not be providing further comments on the topic,” said Nontobeko Sibiya, Marketing Manager: Communications at Nando’s South Africa declining to answer questions that included if there any legal disputes with the previous franchise owner, which is preventing Nando’s from operating in Namibia and if there is any interest from Namibian business people interested in operating the franchise in Namibia.
Sibiya further did not answer the question regarding a possibility of Nando’s returning to Namibia.
The 2018 statement referred to by Sibiya said Nando’s closed franchise branches and would consider future plans to re-enter the Namibian market.
Nando’s was founded in 1987, opening its first restaurant in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. Nando’s has thousands of restaurants across 23 countries, including hundreds of those in South Africa.
According to businesstech.co.za, Nando’s estimates that the total investment to own a branch includes the following: Application fee is N$35,000, franchise fee is N$250,000. The average investment required is: Drive-Thru: N$6.8 million, Inline: N$5 million. Businesstech.co.za said 50% unencumbered cash contribution is Drive-Thru: N$3.5 million and Inline: N$2.6 million.
On the other hand, Steers franchising fees include: Franchise fee – Drive-Thru: N$75,000 | Inline: N$68,000
Average investment required – Drive-Thru: N$3.75 million | Inline: N$1.97 million and monthly royalties at 11% of monthly net sales.
Mcdonald’s does not operate in Namibia but in South Africa the average investment required is between N$4 million and N$6 million. Mcdonald’s requires 35% unencumbered cash contribution between N$1.4 million and N$2.1 million. The total investment needed depends on location, size, styling, and varying pre-operation expenses. In South Africa, KFC new franchise owners could expect to pay close to N$6 million for a new franchise. This number may vary depending on location, size, and operation requirements.
Vivo Energy and in partnership with Baobab Khulisani, formed a new joint venture, trading as Synergy Foods Pty in 2020 to manage and operate the KFC Namibia franchise.
